The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $5.66 million in Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) funding to reduce emissions from polluting engines in the Mid-Atlantic region. The DERA funding was awarded to public and private partners to retrofit and replace older diesel vehicles and equipment.
The grants funded the following projects in the Mid-Atlantic region:
- United Parcel Service (UPS) will apply early retirement to 69 combination short-haul, heavy-duty trucks and replace them with new diesel and compressed natural gas trucks. This project targets the replacement of trucks in various locations in the Mid-Atlantic.
- The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority will replace four diesel terminal tractors with four electric tractors, as well as install associated electrical infrastructure.
- Maryland Environmental Services, on behalf of the Maryland Port Authority, will replace up to four pieces of cargo-handling equipment at the Port of Baltimore with newer engines and replace at least 44 drayage trucks with vehicles with newer engines.
- For the Mid-Atlantic Regional Management Association (MARAMA), a project will provide incentives to eligible dray truck owners serving the ports and railyards of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del. MARAMA aims to incentivize the voluntary replacement of 40 Class 8 drayage trucks, model year 1997 to 2009, with 2013 or newer model year engines equipped with diesel particulate filters and selective catalytic reduction technologies.
“This funding supports EPA’s commitment to protecting children’s health,” says the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic regional administrator, Cosmo Servidio. “The projects funded by EPA will reduce harmful pollutants emitted by diesel engines, thereby improving the region’s air quality and helping children and communities breathe easier.”
Photo: Grendelkhan at English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]
